Wood block flooring



1 Oct. 1, 1935. H. c. NIELSEN WOOD BLOCK FLOORING Filed July 13, 1951 h e 6 Z w RN INVENTO I f/ermdfl 6. I BY 4 4 M My ATTORNEYS.

Patented Oct. 1, 1 935 PATENT OFFICE.

WOOD BLOCK FLOORING Herman C. Nielsen, Detroit, Mich, assignor to National Wood Products 00., a corporation of Delaware Application July 13, 1931, Serial N0. 550,206

6 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in v blocks for floors and is particularly directed to improvements in joining the blocks together.

In block floors of wood or other suitable material which are laid in a' mastic or other adhesive directly on a concrete subfioor and rely on this adhesive to bind' the blocks to the floor, various methods have been employed to join theblocks together'so that each block will be 1 held down by the adjoining blocks and they will be 'bou'ndtogether to form a firm flooring. Many of the methods of joining such blocks and many of the types of joints used are not efiicient, especially in heavy industrial use. because'they are designed to retain the blocks in fixed relation to each'other in a rigid manner-whereby'breakage and separation of the joints will occur due to" swelling or shrinkage. Unevenness of the subfioor also causes tilting of the blocks when a 2 heavy load is placed on a corner of the block or near one edge thereof which results in separating and otherwise damaging the joint used. h

The improved block of my invention and improved floor which may be laid therewith overcomes these difli'culties in a novel manner.

My invention is particularly adaptable for use in block floors laid in a herringbone design wherein it is necessary tohave two series of reversely arranged, right and left blocks.

It is an object of my invention to provide an improved block floor wherein the individual blocks may be joined together in a novel manner with the blocks slightly movable relative to each other.

an improved means ,for joining individual floor blocks when assembled to form a floor.

A further object of my invention is to provide an improved wood block floor and an improved block therefor which is economical to manufacture and easy to assemble and install.

A still further object of my invention is to provide an improved block floor wherein the individual blocks are joined together and which will be permanentand lasting when subjected to heavy use and wear. 7

Further objects and advantages of my inven tion will become apparent throughout a reading of the following detailed description and accompanying drawing in which Figure 1 is a plan view of a section of floor composed of blocks embodying the present invention.

Figure 2 is a diagrammatic plan view of a group of the floor blocks of my. invention illus- Another object of my invention is to provide trating the manner in which theywill be assembled. i i

Figure 3 is an enlarged perspectivewview of one of l a series of blocks of my inventionknown as a right hand block. V

Figure .4 is an enlarged perspective view of one of the other series of blocks of my, invention known .as a left hand block, and

Figure 5 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the floor taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 1.

Referring now to the drawing in which like numerals designate like parts throughout the several views, I have shown in Figure 1,, two series of .reversely. arranged right, and left blocks which are of wood but which may be constructed 15 of tile or other ceramic material if desired, The blocks arelaidon a suitable base or subfioor 6. shown in the drawing to be of concrete, in a layer of mastic or other suitable adhesive I'l preferably of the type which does not harden to the 2 state of brittleness but always retains its plasticity and adhesive qualities throughout the life of the flooring. The blocks are secured to the supporting base by this layer of mastic or adhesive which may be applied to the surface of the subfioor by. troweling or by applying it directly to the blocks by clipping of the blocks. The adhesive is usually heated to a liquid state before application.

The right hand blocks 1 (Figure 3) are those 3 slanted upwardly and to the right in the plan view and are rectangular blocks generally of wood having their lower edges beveled at 8 to form an adhesive receiving groove around the bottom edge of the block when in position, adjacent other blocks. The groove formed between the blocks at the bottom beveled edges 8 will receive the excess adhesive which accumulates when the blocks are slid on their bases during their assembly. modification disclosed in the drawing has plane vertical sides and ends and a smooth fi'at top and bottom surface.

A dowel pine is fixed in the upper side end of the right hand block 1 at the center of that side 45 The block illustrated in the 40 The bore l0 and 50 the drawing. A

second dowel pin receiving bore I l is drilled in the left hand side of the block nearest its lower end and is spaced a distance from the lower left hand corner edge of the block equal to the spacing of the bore ID from the upper right hand corner and for the same reason.

The left hand blocks l2 (Figure 4) are those slanting upwardly and to the left in the plan View and having a dowel pin 53 fixed in the upper end face of the block which is identical to the pin 9 of the right blocks l. The block I Z is identical in all other respects to the block 1 including the beveled edges 8 with the exception that the lower and upper side dowel receiving bores of the block are reversed. Bore M is drilled in the left hand side of the block a distance from the upper left hand corner which is equal to the spacing of the pin it from that corner and a bore is drilled in the lower right hand side of the block the same distance from the lower end face as are the other bores.

The dowel pins of the blocks protrude beyond the ends of the blocks a distance slightly less than the depth'of the dowel receiving bores (Fig.

ure 5).

The dowel pins are usually round and fit snugly within the dowel receiving bores and are rotatable therein.

The blocks are laid in a herringbone design as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 by assembling together rows of reversely arranged right and left blocks. The dowel pins 9 of the right blocks, in the first row from the left in Figure 1, engage the upper bores M of the adjoining left blocks in the second row from the left. The upper ends of the right blocks 1 in the first row abut the upper left hand sides of the left block l2 in the second row; The upper sides of the right blocks are in alignment with the upper edges of the left blocks because of the spacing of the bores and dowel pins, one right block and one left block forming an L when joined together. The end dowel pins l3 of the left blocks l2 in the second row engage the bores ll! of the right blocks 1 and the-upper ends of the left blocks abut the upper portions of the right hand sides of the right blocks '1, and are otherwise arranged in the reversed manner to the right blocks.

In laying the next row, which will be the third row from the left, right hand blocks are employed.

but they are reversely arranged with the dowel pins 9 thereof engaging the bores l5 of the left blocks and the end facesof the right blocks which carry the dowel pins abut the lower portions of the right sides of the left blocks.

, The arrangement of the blocks is clearly illustrated in Figure l and the exploded view in Figure 2.

. A Wood block floor laid in the manner of my invention and employing the novel dowel pin joint arrangement has numerous advantages. Each blockis rotatably joined to the adjacent blocks bythe. dowel pin connection, it being understood that the dowel pins are not fastened in any wayin the receiving bores but are always rotatable therein.

ing-the joints when the blocks expand or contract due to atmospheric or other conditions.

Therefore, each block is slightly rotatable at each joint.

This feature allows the blocks to tilt slightly when a heavy load The blocks may be economically and rapidly manufactured due to the simplicity of the joint used, requiring only a few boring operations and the blocks may be formed by sawing or other simple cutting operations without the necessity of elaborate milling machines usually required to form other types of joints.

Formal changes may be made in the specific embodiment of the invention described without departing from the spirit and substance of the 1b broad invention, the scope of which is commensurate with the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A floor block for heavy industrial uses having plane sides and ends, the edges of the bot- 15 tom of the block being beveled to provide a mastic receiving groove between adjacent blocks, a dowel receiving bore in one end face of the block, a dowel pin disposed in said bore and projecting outwardly beyond the end face of the block, the other end face of the block being plane, a dowel receiving bore in one side face of the block near one end thereof, and a third dowel receiving bore in the opposite side face of the block near the opposite end, each dowel receiving bore being in other than axial alignment with respect to every other dowel receiving bore.

2. A floor block for heavy industrial uses having plane sides and ends, the edges of the bottom' of the block being beveled to provide a mastic receiving groove between adjacent blocks, a projection receiving bore arranged centrally of one end face of the block, a projection disposed in said bore and extending outwardly beyond the end face of the block, the other end face 4'5 3. A rectangular floor block for heavy industrial uses having plane sides and ends, the edges ofthe bottom of the block being beveled to provide a mastic receiving groove between adjacent blocks, a projection receiving bore arranged centrally of one end face of the block and extending axially lengthwise of said block, a cylindrical projection disposed in said bore and extending outwardly beyond the end face of the block, the

other end face of the block being plane, a pro- 5 jection receiving bore in one side face of the block near one end thereof, and a third projection receiving bore in the opposite side face of the block near the opposite end, each projection receiving bore being in other than axial alignment with respect to every other projection receiving bore.

4. A block floor composed of a plurality of blocks the edges of the bottoms of each block being beveled to provide a mastic receiving groove between adjacent blocks, said blocks being laid in rows of reversely arranged right and left hand blocks, each block being provided with projection receiving bores in the sides thereof, and

projections arranged at one end only of each 7 block and rotatably receivable in said bores for joining the blocks together.

5. In a block floor, a supporting base, a plural-- ity of rectangular blocks arranged in side and and contact with each other, the edges of the bottoms projection receiving bore 40' of each block being beveled to provide a, groove between adjacent blocks, a projection carried at one end only of each block, a projection receiving bore located in each side of the blocks for rotatably receiving the projections of the adjacent blocks, and adhesive adhering to the bottom surface of each block and to the supporting base.

6. In a block floor, a supporting base, a plurality of rectangular blocks arranged in side and 10 end contact with each other, the edges of the bottoms of each block being beveled to provide a groove between adjacent blocks, a projection carried centrally of an end face and at one end only of each block, a projection receiving bore located in each side of the blocks for rotatably receiving the projections of adjacent blocks, and adhesive adhering to the bottom surfaces and beveled edges of the blocks and to the supporting base.

HERMAN C. NIELSEN. 

